The Year 2012

The turning point

Month to month

As 2012 begins, January through March will continue the current trend of escalating unrest, volatile markets, and disturbing weather patterns. In a way, we have become so accustomed to the dramatically changing climate, environment, economy and social order, that change is quickly becoming the status quo.

April and the early part of May will change that, so that even those individuals who are permanently stuck in denial mode are shocked out of there complacency. And underneath it all, a current of basic human goodwill flows stronger and stronger. This is a time for optimism, even in the face of chaos.

June, July, August bring us the summer of our transformation. So much happens -- a lot of it scary and negative and dominated by religious conflict -- that you have to be wide awake to notice that underneath it all, a heartwarming trend of care, brotherhood, empathy and social consciousness continues to grow fast, and globally. It's a story of death and rebirth.

And while 2012 is the hinge-point of this bigger nine-year pivotal cycle, September, specifically, is the axis around which the pivot turns. For most of us, this fact will be obscured by the fast pace of things, one big news story after another. But once we are far enough removed that hindsight offers a clearer picture, we will recognize September 2012 as the month when critical mass was reached.

October, November and December don't slow the pace one bit, but for many of us, we will be heartened by the rising promise of a New World. It can all be summed up in a single, simple statement: The iron grip of the powerful is no match to the power of the meek, as our history, not yet written, will teach us.